Guide
How does Google's AI choose which local businesses to show?
Google's AI features, Gemini and the AI answers in Google Search, lean heavily on one thing for local questions: Google's own business listings. Here's what that means for your business and what to get right.
It starts with your Google Business Profile
In our Perth study, every one of Google Gemini's 459 answers about local businesses was built from Google Maps listings. A large US study by Steady Demand found 80% of the sources in Google's AI Mode for local searches were Google Maps and Business Profile pages, with most of the rest coming from business websites.
So your Google Business Profile isn't just for the map. It's the main thing Google's AI reads about you.
What Google's AI looks at
Your category and services
Your primary category tells Google what you are. Choose the most specific one that's true ("Electrician", not "Contractor") and add secondary categories for your main services. List every service by name, with a short description.
Your hours
Many local searches mean "open now". Wrong or missing hours, including public holidays, can keep you out of those answers or send customers to a closed door.
Your reviews
AI answers often mention a business's rating and number of reviews when recommending it. A steady flow of recent, genuine reviews, with replies, helps both the AI answer and the customer reading it.
Your distance from the person searching
Proximity matters a lot in Google's local results. A business can't rank equally everywhere. Being clear about the suburbs you serve helps, but you'll always be strongest near your address.
Your website
The website linked from your profile is Google's next source. The Steady Demand study found 95.5% of the websites cited in Google's AI Overviews for local searches were the same sites listed on the businesses' profiles. Make sure your profile links to your site, and that the site describes your services and area in plain text.
What doesn't matter as much as people say
- Special code for AI. Google says there's no special markup needed to appear in its AI features. Good, clear content and an accurate profile come first.
- Posting constantly. Google profile posts are fine for customers, but there's little evidence they change AI answers.
A quick checklist
- Claim and verify your Google Business Profile.
- Set the most specific primary category, plus secondary categories.
- Add every service, your service areas and accurate hours, including public holidays.
- Write a plain description: what you do, where, and what makes you different.
- Add real, recent photos.
- Ask every customer for a review, and reply to every review.
- Link to a website that repeats your details and services clearly.
Want the full version? Get our free 23-point checklist, one page covering your Google profile, website, listings and reviews.